News Quality Rating Symbols0-5 Star Ratings (larger image)- This is an example of how on-air news quality rating symbols can be placed, so that newsmakers can self assess their news content and tell viewers how much ethical journalistic rigor goes into each news story aired. A rating of 3 might cause some viewers to go elsewhere for news, while others might consider 3 out of 5 stars an acceptable level of journalistic ethical rigor to continue watching.
A News Quality Rating System and Content Labeling approach, follows a tradition of consumer protection product labeling, that is very familiar to Americans. The News Quality Ratings Systems will be designed to be a newsmaker self assessed ethics rating, non-government managed, constitutional and anti-censorship and can benefit consumers
• Americans, overwhelmingly, are unsatisfied with the state of journalism today (including many journalists).
• Fox won a Florida Appellate Court decision that ruled news media can legally lie to the public.
• Together we will move the news media to self assess their news content using a “News Quality Rating System” based on spj.org journalism ethics code.
• A non-government/non-FCC based “News Quality Rating System” encourages newsmakers to self assess and advise viewers about each on-air news story’s level of journalistic integrity (e.g. 5 stars, 4 stars, 3, etc.)
• Consumers successfully petitioned for MPAA(film), RIAA(music) and the TV Parental Guidelines Ratings and won.
• Join the growing list of citizens who have signed the on-line FCC petition supporting a non-government/non-FCC based “News Quality Rating System”.
